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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27263527">I hope you enjoy your time together</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TitanicFan/pseuds/TitanicFan'>TitanicFan</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Titanic (1997)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>But not always, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Rose And Jack, alternative, happy endings, oneshots</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 01:54:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>13,522</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27263527</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TitanicFan/pseuds/TitanicFan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of oneshots about Titanic. Some are canon, some are alternative things that could've happened. Most of them don't have happy endings but a few will. I promise they're better than the chapter names. I don't think its graphic enough to need a warning, but please comment if you think it does and I'll change it. Please read and review! I don't own Titanic</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jack Dawson/Rose DeWitt Bukater</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Jack's fight for Rose</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I run, holding Rose's hand, tugging her as quickly away from Cal as I can. For a moment, I think he's stopped, but then I hear him coming after us. At the other end of the dining hall, I slam against the door, but it doesn't open. We're trapped in here with Cal. Rose looks at me, terrified. I won't let him hurt her. We crouch behind a table and I motion for her to stay where she is. She nods and I crawl around the tables to attack Cal. Theres no other way we're gonna get out of here. Even if he kills me, it'll distract him so Rose can escape.</p><p>My blood freezes as I hear a small splash. Barely noticeable, but I see Cal turn in Rose's direction. "Hello, sweetpea." I tackle him from behind, throwing him away from Rose. He turns and hits me, and I stumble back. "Didn't you hear me, Dawson? I always win and that means that you'll never have her. She's mine!" He sneers. I lunge at him "Never!" He's crazy if he thinks I'll let him hurt her again. Cal just laughs and throws me to the floor so hard that my head goes under the water and his hands come around my throat. I struggle against him, but I can't dislodge his hands and my vision starts to fade. I love you Rose. I'm so, so sorry I never properly told you.</p><p>Then, his hands around my neck are gone and I break the surface. Rose is struggling with Cal and he hits her, hard and she slumps to the floor. I launch myself at them, shoving him away from my beautiful Rose. She isn't moving "Rose? Rose!" I shake her desperately. She has to be alright, she has to be! "Rose! Wake up, Rose, please!" I beg. "Jack?" I hear her whisper and I hug her in relief. "Don't put yourself in danger for me, Rose! My life isn't worth you losing yours. You really scared me, Rose!"</p><p>"Maybe its your turn to scare her now, Dawson." Before I can react, Cal slams me against a column, sending Rose tumbling to the floor, and hits me again and again. His fist slams into my stomach and I double over. He pushes me down and kicks me and I grab his leg and pull him down and punch him in the face and he collapses to the floor, unconscious.</p><p>I stagger to my feet and that's when I see Rose collapsed on the floor, blood running from her temple. "Rose!" I run to her and gather her in my arms. She must've fallen against the table when Cal dragged us apart. "Rose, open your eyes for me, please!" She stays silent and unresponsive in my arms. Tears run down my face. "No, no, no, no! Rose, please, no!" I choke out. She gives a little sigh and curls up in my arms. "Rose?" Through my grief, I forgot to check if she was breathing. I hug her close to me and run to the door. I slam against the door, turning to make sure I take the impact not Rose. The lock breaks and I fall through, cradling Rose.</p><p>"Jack?" I look down and see Rose's beautiful blue eyes looking up at me. "Rose! You're awake!" She looks around in confusion. "How did we get here? The last thing I remember is-" She looks around in terror "Cal, he hit you and I fell- where is he?"<br/>"Unconscious." I say grimly. "He won't hurt you again, Rose, I promise." Rose nods "I can walk, Jack." "Are you sure? He hit you pretty hard." I hold her close, protectively. "He hurt you more. I shouldn't be so weak, I'm sorry." She looks at the floor. I tilt her face towards me "You have nothing to be sorry for, Rose. Nothing. You're not weak and don't ever let anyone tell you that you are. He hit me more because he hates me, and I would rather be hit a thousand times than let you be hurt. You know that, right?" Rose nods. "Right." I set her down and we run towards the deck.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Cal threatens Rose</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Another shot rings out. Me and Rose run further away from Cal. Suddenly, I feel Rose's hand tugged away from mine. I spin round to see Cal holding Rose by her shoulder, his gun pointed at her neck. "Let her go. Its me you hate, not her." Rose struggles in his grip. "Jack, run!"</p><p>Cal laughs "Yes, Dawson, run." He sneers. "I won't let you take her away from me!" I tell him, resolutely. "You should have thought of that before you took her away from me!" He snaps. "Now turn around and walk down those stairs or I think you know what will happen." He presses the gun into Rose's neck. She writhes against him "No, Jack! No!" Would he really shoot her?</p><p>Maybe in normal circumstances no but seeing Rose with me has driven him crazy. He'll kill her so that I won't have her either. Not that anyone could ever "have" Rose. I reach out and brush my hand against her cheek "I love you Rose." She puts her hand over mine "I love you Jack." Rose smiles.</p><p>"Which is why I have to do this, to keep you safe." I look at her for the last time before I turn and walk down the stairs further into the ship. "Jack!" I hear Rose call to me and almost turn round but I can't or he'll kill her. "No, Jack!" She sobs and it kills me that I can't comfort her and tell her I'm right there.</p><p>The sound of the water and the pounding in my ears soon drowns out Rose's voice. I wade through the corridors, waist-high in water. After I've turned a few corners, I come across some stairs and hope starts to rise in my chest. Maybe I will see Rose again. Behind me, I can no longer see Rose or Cal. He won't see me climb up the stairs towards the boat deck and he'll think I'm dead. He won't hurt Rose.</p><p>On the boat deck people are running everywhere in a complete panic. I look around frantically for Rose but I can't see her. She's safe, she has to be! Cal's probably got her onto one of the last lifeboats, I tell myself. I have to survive, for her. I have to stay on the ship as long as possible. Once I'm in the water, its only a matter of time before the cold gets me. As my hands land on the rail, the ship shakes and the deck plunges back to the ocean. Then it starts to tilt up again. Beside me, people lose their grip and fall. I can't let go, I have to live. The thought of how much it will hurt Rose if she finds that I'm not on the survivors list is too painful to think about.</p><p>I pull myself over the rail and hang on for dear life as the ship starts to dive down into the water. I fight desperately to reach the surface again and I gasp for air as I break the surface. All around me, people are screaming and dying. Everyone. No matter what class you are you're still human. And no human can survive this cold.</p><p>Don't think like that Jack. I mentally tell myself off. I swim through the people around me and to my relief I see an upturned table floating near me. I drag myself onto it and collapse. Another man hauls himself up beside me. I don't recognise him but from his clothes I think he's third-class. "I'm Jack Dawson."</p><p>"Robert Meldeen." We stay there, shivering and terrified for hours it seems like. "Hey, mate. A boats coming back." Robert shakes me. I sit up on my elbows. "We're over here!" I shout and thankfully my voice isn't completely gone yet. The boat comes towards us. They pull both of us in and cover us with blankets. Only three more people join us in the boat. I don't recognise any of them. Fabrizio, Tommy, Cora, Helga. They're probably dead. Because of me. If I hadn't one those tickets I wouldn't have met Rose and that was the best thing that ever happened to me but it also brought Fabrizio onto Titanic. If he's dead, its because of me.</p><p>"Theres a ship!" The officer cries. Two sailors have to almost drag me onboard. A woman presses a mug of something warm into my hands. I mumble a thank you.</p><p>Later that afternoon, I look for a minute up at first-class. Rose. She's there, alive, staring out at the sea, her hair cascading down her back. She looks almost like she did the first time I saw her. Her eyes flick towards me and she sees me. She smiles and looks toward the stern of the ship. I stand up. I know what she means.</p><p>When I get there, she's standing facing away from me, leaning over the side. "Rose." I say softly. She spins around and I hug her to me. "I thought you were dead!" She sobs. "I know, Rose. I know. But I'm not. I'm a survivor, remember?" She gives me a small smile. "I remember."</p><p>"You still want to get off this ship with me when it docks? Even though it's a different ship?" I ask her, half trying to make her laugh and half serious. "If you'll still have me."</p><p>"Of course I do."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Together in death</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jack</p><p>I look up for a second to see Cal with his gun pointed straight at us. "Run!" I shout, pulling Rose towards the stairs. He fires again and as I glance back, I see him running down the Grand Staircase after us.</p><p>I run down the stairs, dragging Rose as fast as I can behind me. I don't want to be rough with her, but I can't let her get shot, I can't lose her. I look back to see how far away Cal is and I see him raise his gun again and I know with a terrible certainty where the bullet is going to hit. I shove Rose in front of me and I feel the bullet rip through my body. I fall to the stairs "Run!" I cry to Rose but to my horror she just stares at me and then down at herself. Her white dress is stained with red. She stumbles down beside me.</p><p>"Rose!" I drag myself up and hold her in my arms, desperately trying to stop the bleeding. Rose pulls my hands away "Its alright." I nod, trying to ignore what she really means "You're gonna be alright. You're gonna be fine." I don't know who I'm trying to convince, Rose or myself.</p><p>"No I'm not. And neither are you. I'm sorry, Jack." Rose starts to sob. "Y-you have n-nothing to b-be s-sorry f-for." I stutter, my voice starting to give out. "I love you, Rose."</p><p>"I love you, Jack." Rose whispers. Her eyes glaze over and she goes limp in my arms. No, no, no, no. "Rose! Rose, no, please no!" I shake her gently but she doesn't move. "This is my fault." I whimper, tears rolling down my face. If I'd just left her alone after the dinner in first-class, she would still be alive. She's dead because of me. Me and Hockley. Hockley. Her death might be my fault but he's the one who shot her.</p><p>Tearing my gaze from Rose, I see him at the top of the stairs, his eyes wide with shock. He didn't mean to kill her, he meant to kill me. Well he's gonna get his wish. The same bullet that has killed her will kill me too. I glare at him, before slumping forward, my head resting on Rose's neck.</p><p>Cal</p><p>Fury rushes through my blood as I watch that gutter rat Dawson embrace my fiancée. How dare he? And how dare she? Well, I'll show him the price for loving her. Lovejoy pulls me away, and for a moment I let him, but only for a moment. I turn to him and grab his gun and run towards the couple. Just as I'm about to fire, Dawson looks up and his eyes widen, and he pulls Rose towards the staircase. The bullet hits the side of the stairs and as I run, I slip on the broken edge and drop my gun but fuelled with rage, I jump back up and rearm myself. I fire again and again but every time I miss.</p><p>Dawson looks back and I lift the gun and fire. The smirk drops from my face as I realise where the bullet is going to hit. Dawson realises too and he shoves Rose in front of him and drops to the stairs. The bullet that would've killed Rose has killed him instead. How sweet. I look at Rose and my heart stops. The front of her dress is soaked in blood. For a second, I hope that its Dawson's blood, but then she falls beside Dawson. "Rose!" I think I've shouted aloud but then I realise the voice wasn't mine. It was Dawson's. He tried to shield her, but the bullet destroyed them both.</p><p>He pulls her to him, trying to stop the bleeding but she bats his hands away. I can't hear what they're saying and after a minute Rose stops moving. She's dead, I killed her. Dawson cries, his shoulders shaking and then he looks at me. I am perfectly used to people disliking me, but I have never seen someone look at me with so much hatred before.</p><p>He falls forward and they lie together on the stairs, dead.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Ruth's redemption</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Never let go." Jack said and kissed Rose's hand, trying to smile before the pain became too much and he panted for breath. The reality of the situation hit Rose all at once. "Jack, you can't stay in the water, you'll die!"</p><p>"There's not room for us both, Rose. I won't risk your life." He said resolutely. But Rose just shook her head. "Jack, either you come on here or I'll get off." She threatened and started to slip back off into the water. Jack's eyes widened with horror. "No! Rose!" He caught her waist and put her back on the door. "I'm coming on, I'm coming on." Jack reassured her. He would try and get on the door too, but only for her sake. He couldn't let her come back into the frozen water.</p><p>Jack pulled himself as carefully as he could onto the door. If Rose was hurt because of this, he'd never forgive himself. Just as he was almost fully on the door, suddenly, without warning, the door lurched, tipping Rose into the ice-cold water. "Rose!" He cried. She broke the surface on the other side of the door. Jack leaned over and almost dragged her back onto the door, such was his desperation to get her back to safety. Or as safe as she could be under the circumstances. Jack held Rose as tightly as he could. She shivered under his touch. He rubbed his hands over her to try and warm her but it was futile. Rose stayed as ice-cold as the water around them.</p><p>After what seemed like centuries, Jack felt the light of a torch on his face and he heard the voices of people shouting for survivors. A lifeboat had come back! He shook Rose gently "Rose, theres a boat!" She didn't respond. He tilted her face towards his. Her eyes were closed, and her eyelashes were covered in frost. She stayed silent. "Rose!" Jack cried. "Please, Rose, wake up, you can't leave me, please!" Jack begged her but to no avail, she was gone.</p><p>He sobbed, closing his eyes. He wouldn't try and get the lifeboats attention, not without her. He couldn't. She was the one who was supposed to live! If he hadn't let her convince him to get on the door too, she would still be alive. She wouldn't have fallen into the water. He thought in agony.</p><p>As the lifeboat passed them, one of the sailors saw his shoulders shake. "He's alive!" The sailor shouted, pointing to Jack.</p><p>Jack tried to stay as still as possible, but he felt a hand on his shoulder, pulling him up towards the lifeboat. "No! Please, I can't abandon her! No!" Jack tried to shout but all that came out of his mouth was a whisper. He tried to cling onto the door, to Rose, but he was weak from the cold and they hauled him into the boat. "Whats your name?"</p><p>"Jack Dawson" He replied. They covered him in blankets and left him to his grief. One of them patted his shoulder "It'll be alright." They tried to comfort him but he only shook his head "Nothing will ever be alright." He muttered.</p><p>"Theres a ship!" Jack lifted his head to see a ship on the horizon. He was helped onboard and he sank down in a corner. He sipped at a mug of something. Jack didn't know who had given him the mug or what was in it.</p><p>"Mr Dawson?" Ruth stood in front of him, looking shocked.</p><p>"Mrs Dewitt Bukater?" Ruth opened her mouth to ask him but just from looking at him she knew the answer. "Rose?" She asked, her voice shaking. Tears came to his eyes when he heard her name. "She's dead." He choked out "She's gone and its my fault."</p><p>Jack looked at the floor, Ruth realised, he was waiting for her to shout at him, blame him, and, she grasped, he thought he deserved it. But she couldn't bring herself to blame him. She could see now what she hadn't seen before, Jack loved Rose. Whatever had happened to her, he hadn't hurt her. And he looked so destroyed, so grief-stricken. Rose was dead and Ruth knew that Rose wouldn't have wanted her to hate Jack. "What happened? After she ran away from the lifeboat?" She asked gently. Jack looked at her, shocked. He was silent, the memories too painful to say out loud. "Please, I need to know what happened to my daughter." Jack nodded "You have a right to know."</p><p>"Not much of one, I'm afraid. I was an awful mother. Don't tell me I wasn't." She added, seeing Jack open his mouth. "But she was my daughter and I need to know."</p><p>"She ran away from a lifeboat?" Was the only thing he could get out.</p><p>"I got onto a lifeboat and, oh the things I said were awful, so awful, but anyway, she should have got on next, but she refused. The last thing she said was- was 'Goodbye Mother'" She sobbed. "That was the last thing I'll ever hear her say." She recovered herself. "Tell me what happened to her."</p><p>"Well, I was handcuffed to a pole at the bottom of the ship and she found me. There was no key, Lovejoy had taken it and so she went to find help-"</p><p>"Wait, to clear everything up, you didn't steal the Heart of the Ocean, did you?" Ruth interrupted. Jack shook his head "No. I love Rose, her money doesn't mean a thing to me." Ruth gave a little smile. "Anyway" He carried on with his story but leaving out some details that he wanted to keep to himself.</p><p>"Cal shot at her?" Ruth asked in disbelief. She had known Rose wasn't happy and she had known Cal wasn't as much of a gentleman as he liked to pretend but she never thought he would go that far. "He could have killed her!" She realised what she had said and coughed in embarrassment. "I mean, he could have killed you both." Jack gave a wry smile. "It woulda been better if he had killed me. Rose would still be alive." He said wretchedly.</p><p>Ruth didn't know what to say, because she knew it was true and she couldn't tell him she was glad things hadn't turned out that way because although she no longer hated him, she loved Rose. "Rose wouldn't want you to think like that."</p><p>He gave a little shrug and resumed talking. When he got to the end, when Rose and him were in the water, he stopped for a moment. "There was a door floating in the water, there was only room for one of us, so I stayed in the water-" Ruth stared at him "You could have been killed!" She gasped in disbelief that Jack had risked his life for Rose. "I thought I was going to die. I couldn't let Rose die-" His voice caught for a second. "I love her, I wanted her to live so, so badly." He said, his eyes telling Ruth how sincere he was. "I tried to hide that I was dying from her, so that she would focus on making sure she lived, instead of worrying about me. But she realised, and she threatened to get back in the water if I didn't get onto the door." Ruth gave a sad laugh "That sounds like Rose."</p><p>"So I did. I got on and then- then it tilted, and Rose fell into the water. I pulled her out as quickly as I could but-but it was too late." His voice broke. "I couldn't make her warm."</p><p>"All I could do was wait for a lifeboat to come back. When it did, I tried to wake her up but she wouldn't wake up. She was gone." He sobbed. "I didn't try to get the lifeboat's attention. I don't want to live without Rose. But they musta seen me move or somethin', and I was too weak to stop them taking me away from her. I was too weak."</p><p>They were both in floods of tears by this point. "I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry." Ruth didn't know if he was talking to her or to Rose. "It wasn't your fault." She tried to comfort him. Jack only shook his head. "I shouldn'ta let her convince me to try and get on the door."</p><p>"We both know she would have been true to her word and got back in the water."</p><p>"I know, but I coulda done something to stop her. Something, anything!"</p><p>Ruth knew there was nothing she could say to change his mind. "Well it seems we've both lost everything." She said with a harsh laugh. Jack looked at her oddly "You still have your fancy first-class life." He pointed out, not unkindly. Ruth just shook her head. "A life that killed Rose. Without the expectations of society, I would never have tried to stop Rose seeing you and you would never have been chained to the bottom of a sinking ship like an animal. I want no part of it. And I don't still have it, even if I wanted it. Rose's father died a few years ago. After he died, we found that he'd run up thousands of dollars in debt."</p><p>"And that's why you were so desperate to marry her off to Cal." Jack finished.</p><p>"Yes." After a pause she said "I haven't lost the house yet. If you have nowhere else to go, you're welcome to stay there until I have to sell that too." Ruth offered. Jack opened his mouth to reply, when he stared over Ruth's shoulder. Slowly, as if in a dream, he stood up, his gaze never wavering. Ruth turned to see what he was staring at.</p><p>Standing on the other side of the Carpathia was Rose.</p><p>"Rose!" Jack shouted. She turned towards his voice. He broke into a run towards her and she stumbled towards him. They collided in the centre of the deck. "Rose!"</p><p>"Jack!" They kissed as if nobody was watching them. "I thought- I thought you were dead! I love you, Rose, more than anyone in the world!" Jack told Rose between kisses.</p><p>"I love you Jack!" Tears of happiness ran down both of their faces. Jack held Rose protectively in his arms "You're alright, you're safe!" He buried his face in her fiery red curls. "So are you." Rose laughed in relief.</p><p>Ruth choked back a sob of happiness. Rose turned her head and saw her "Mother?" She pulled away from Jack in confusion. Ruth launched herself at Rose, wrapping her arms around her. "I'm so sorry, Rose, I'm so, so, so sorry. I've been an awful mother and I'm so sorry." Rose hugged her back. "You were doing what you thought was right Mother."</p><p>"But I was wrong Rose, I was so, so wrong."</p><p>"It doesn't matter." Rose said. She unwrapped one arm from Ruth and pulled Jack, who had been standing watching the reunion smiling, into the hug. He wrapped one arm closely around Rose and the other around Ruth's shoulders. They stood there like that and Ruth muttered "Welcome to the family, Jack." Jack just held Rose, smiling, all three of them happy.</p><p>Authors note: Before I get reviews saying Ruth would never be so accepting of Jack, theres a deleted scene on the Carpathia, and Ruth is in it for a moment, and I think when she thought Rose was dead she would've been glad to see Rose with Jack, because it would've meant she was alive. Anyway, review, please!</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. No way of safety</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Authors note: In case its unclear, it starts off as Jack's pov.</p><p>"Swim, Rose, I need you to swim!" I pull Rose through the masses of people around us. I look around frantically for anything that would get Rose out of the water. I find nothing. "Jack?" Rose cries uncertainly behind me. "It's gonna be alright, Rose." I try to reassure her but she's not stupid. She knows whats going on. "We need to keep moving!"</p><p>As we swim, the screams get quieter and quieter. The people around us stop moving and soon we're swimming through an ocean of corpses. There's only a few people still alive to scream.</p><p>Rose's hand goes limp in mine. I spin round "Rose!" She's floating gently in the water, almost as if she's sleeping. Almost. "Rose!" I cry again, shaking her as gently as I can. To my relief her eyes flutter open. "Jack." She mumbles, her eyes closing again. "No, Rose! Stay with me. Please!" I beg her.</p><p>Rose shakes her head "I can't, Jack. I'm sorry."</p><p>"No! Rose! You're gonna be alright, I promise!"</p><p>"You can't promise that, Jack. Look around u-us. N-no one's coming back and its s-so cold. I'm just a spoilt l-little rich girl, r-remember? Not even y-you can save me now. You c-can survive this, Jack, but I can't." She says resignedly. My heart breaks at her words. "No, no, Rose! Don't think like that!" I plead. What hurts the most is that she's right, the boats aren't coming back anytime soon and she's so, so cold.</p><p>I hold her in my arms, tears running down my face. "I'm sorry Rose, I'm so sorry. This is my fault and I'm so, so sorry."</p><p>"You didn't s-sink the Titanic."</p><p>"No, but if I'd never gotten involved with you, you would be safe on a l-lifeboat."</p><p>"S-safe to d-die."</p><p>"You'd s-still be alive t-though."</p><p>"Jack, I'd r-rather die here with you than l-live without you." She smiles weakly.</p><p>"Winning that ticket, Rose, was the best thing that ever happened to me. It brought me to you." That thought brings a smile to my face. "And I'm thankful for that Rose, I'm thankful." I kiss her gently. I can feel her lips shivering and I rub my hands up and down her arms, trying desperately to make her warm even though I know how futile it is.</p><p>Then she stops shivering. "Rose?" I shake her shoulders gently, hoping against all hope that she's not, she's not… But this time her eyes don't open. I'll never see her beautiful blue eyes again. "No!" The sound rips from my throat like the howl of a wild animal. "Rose! Rose, no! Please, no!" My voice turns from a shout to a sob. "No, no, no, no, Rose." I bring my lips to Rose's as one last gesture before I close my eyes.</p><p>Ruth</p><p>Just as the officer steps into the lifeboat that is going back, I grab his arm. "Let me go with you, please! I have to find her!" I beg him. He looks hesitant. "Ma'am, it's not going to be a pretty sight back there."</p><p>"I know! Please, my daughter could be out there!" He nods. "Alright then, Ma'am." He holds his hand out for me and I step into the boat. The sailors row back in silence. I sit wrapped in my own thoughts. If Rose's voice was one of those screams… I would be glad to see her with Mr Dawson if it meant she was still alive.</p><p>As I think this, I look up and see a sight nobody should see. An ocean of corpses floating still and deathly in front of us. "Are any moving?" The officer asks a sailor. "No sir, none moving sir." He replies sadly. "Well, check them!" The sailors who aren't rowing lean out of the boat, checking people but they're all gone. All of them. "These are all dead sir."</p><p>The officers gaze falls on somebody and he chokes back a sob. I follow his gaze to see a woman holding her baby. "We were too late." All I can do is nod. "Can anybody hear me? Hello! Can anybody here me?"</p><p>As I search the faces of the people in the water, my gaze catches on one. Rose. "My daughter." My voice is barely even a whisper. I can only see half of her face, but I know it's her. Holding her in his arms is Mr Dawson. No, I can't call him that, not now. I can't call him the name I called him at the first-class dinner when I said those things to him. How I wish I could take it all back, all the things I said at the first-class dinner. If I'd only accepted their love earlier, I could've stopped him being arrested and they might both still be alive. He would never have stolen from her, I can see that now.</p><p>Jack holds Rose in his arms, their lips meet in death's last embrace. "I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry." I sob helplessly. But I'm too late. Nothing can bring them back.</p><p>Author's Note: Another one involving Ruth, but this ones not so happy, I'm afraid. Review, please!</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. The Girls and Tommy Ryan</h2></a>
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    <p>Jack's eyes flew open as he felt his body submerge under the water. He swam to the surface and looked around frantically for the door that Rose had been on. "Rose?" He shouted but there was only silence. After a few moments, his eyes landed on the door. For a few seconds, relief flooded his body, until he got closer and saw to his horror that Rose had gone.</p><p>She musta been rescued. A boat musta come back and she'd been saved from the water. That was the only explanation Jack could accept. The other alternative was too painful for him to think about. Rose wasn't dead, she couldn't be. His fiery Rose was alive. Jack dragged himself onto the door and soon he felt the beam of a torch on his face. another boat had come back! "I'm over here! Please, I'm over here!" He yelled and, to his relief, the boat turned towards him.</p><p>When they got close another, one of the men leaned out and dragged Jack into the boat. They covered him in blankets. "Is this the first boat to come back?" The men shook their heads "No, this is the second boat."</p><p>"Do you know who the first boat saved?" Jack begged them. "We don't know son. We came back before the other lifeboat returned." Jack nodded. Rose is alive, she's on the other boat. He repeated those two sentences in his mind all that night, until he heard a cry of "There's a ship!" he looked up to see a ship coming towards them on the horizon. He heard the officers shouting to catch the attention of the ship and when it came near enough the passengers of the lifeboats were helped onto the ship, which read on the side Carpathia.</p><p>As soon as he was on board the Carpathia, Jack walked through the crowds of survivors, searching for Rose. But she was nowhere to be seen. "Jack?" He heard a familiar voice behind him. He turned to see Fabrizio. "Fabrizio!" They hugged then parted. "Rosa?" Fabrizio asked gently, expecting the worst. "She's not dead." Jack answered firmly. "She musta been saved by the first lifeboat."</p><p>In his heart, Fabrizio worried Jack was in denial about Rose because he couldn't bear to lose her. "Helga must have been saved by the first lifeboat too." He could not bear to lose Helga any more than Jack could bare to lose Rose. "We will look for them together." Fabrizio finished, trying to regain his old optimism. Jack nodded. "They've gotta be here somewhere, right?" He gave a half smile.</p><p>But four days later, on the 19th of April, when the Carpathia docked, they hadn't found either Rose or Helga. They stood at the docks, dazed, having no idea what they should do. Jack broke out of his reverie first. "Fabri, we need to look at a survivors list and see if Rose and Helga are on it." Fabrizio nodded and they both walked in different directions looking for stewards, an unspoken agreement had passed between them. If Rose and Helga were not on the survivors list, they would need to be on their own. Jack saw a steward's uniform and ran towards him. "Sir!" The man turned towards him, a grim look on his face. he did not want to tell another person that their loved one was dead. "Are you looking for someone?" Jack nodded. "Rose Dewitt Bukater."</p><p>The man looked through the list of survivors, not questioning why this third-class man was asking after a girl who was clearly first-class. He looked up at Jack sorrowfully. "I'm sorry son. She's not on the list." A jolt of agony ripped through Jack. "You're sure?" He asked desperately. The man nodded and turned away, unable to look at the pain on Jack's face. Jack collapsed on the nearest bench, his head in his hands. Wrenching sobs wracked his body. "No, no, no, no. No! Rose please, come back! I love you."</p><p>Fabrizio ran up to a steward. "Senor! Is there a Helga Dahl on your-a list?" The man looked through his list, and to his dismay, there was no Helga Dahl on the list. "I'm very sorry, there isn't." The man told him regretfully. "No… She has to be on the-a survivors list, she has to! Can you-a check again?" The man did so but shook his head. "She's not there." Fabrizio nodded and walked quickly away, heading towards an alleyway he could see where there was no one there. He leaned against a wall, tears running down his face. "I'm-a sorry, Helga, I'm so-a sorry. I should have stayed with you, I should never have left. Please, come back!" He begged but there was no answer.</p><p>After a few hours, he went to look for Jack. He saw him walking towards him, his face twisted in a look of agony that Fabrizio knew was on his own face. "She's not on the list." Was all Jack managed to say. "Neither is Helga." Jack shook his head. "What are we gonna do without them, Fabri?" In their desperation to find Rose and Helga, and then their grief at finding that neither one of them were on the list they had forgotten to give their own names to the stewards.</p><p>Rose had just given her name when she heard a voice calling her name. "Rose?" She turned round to see Tommy standing behind her. "Tommy?"</p><p>"Yeah. Is Jack…" He trailed off, seeing her expression change and tears drip down her face. He wrapped her in a hug. "I'm sorry. He was a good man." Tommy tried to comfort Rose, thinking of his own memories of Jack. "Well, Jack would want me to look after you." Rose looked up at him "Oh, Tommy, you don't have to…" Tommy shook his head "No, I want to. I only knew Jack for a few days, but he was one of the best friends I ever had." Rose gave him a little smile of gratitude. "Thank you." Then she grinned mischievously "Mr Ryan." Tommy raised his eyebrows at her "Don't you dare. I am not being one of those fancy first-class gentlemen, strutting around-" As he said, he started strutting around in a ridiculous fashion. "- styling their hair-" He over-exaggeratingly ran his hands through his curls. "- drinkin their champagne-" He mimicked drinking from a wine glass, his little finger stuck out. "That's how you drink tea!" Rose said, pretending to be scandalized. Tommy waved his hand "Whatever. And just generally acting like they're the masters of the damn universe when actually they're a bunch of stuck up, pompous jerks." Rose giggled "That's almost exactly what I said, only a few days ago!"</p><p>"To said stuck up, pompous jerks?"</p><p>"No, to Jack. When he came to dinner." They both smiled sadly. "We were all shocked when he came back in that fancy suit. He told us he'd met you and been invited to dinner, but I almost didn't believe him. When he first saw you, I told him he was more likely to 'ave angels fly out of 'is arse than get next to the likes of you but I'm guessin' there were angels flying around somewhere."</p><p>Helga stood in the rain, her tears mingling with the rain drops. A man hesitantly tapped her on the shoulder. "Can I take your name please, miss?" In that moment she knew what to tell him. "Helga De Rossi." The officer thanked her and walked away.</p><p>Over Rose's shoulder, Tommy spotted a flash of blonde hair. "Helga?" Rose turned to see Helga standing alone. Helga turned her head towards them and as she recognised them, she walked towards them. "Tommy? Rose?" They both nodded. "Fabrizio is not on the list, and my parents they are dead!" She said in a rush. Tommy looked at her in confusion, she had been talking in Norwegian, but Rose nodded. "Jack is not on the list either." She replied in Norwegian. Tommy looked at her in surprise and so did Helga. You can speak Norwegian?" Tommy asked. "A few years ago, it was very fashionable to learn a European language, I learned Norwegian." She explained.</p><p>"Well, that'll be useful." Tommy observed. "What should we do now?" Helga asked and Rose repeated it in English to Tommy. He thought for a moment. "I think we should find a bench, and stay here for a day or two, to you know, recover. At least as much as we can." He said grimly. A cloak of grief was still crushing them under its weight, the loss of Jack, Fabrizio, Helga's parents and little Cora was painful in all of their minds. Then he grinned and said, "I hope you two ladies don't mind sleeping on a bench."</p><p>Rose put on a mock- posh air. "Well it is no four-poster bed, but I suppose it will have to do." Tommy laughed and Helga, having understood the gist of what Rose was saying, smiled. Tommy guided them to a bench.</p><p>When night fell, they curled up on the bench to sleep. Tommy wrapped his arms protectively around the two girls. See, Jack, Fabrizio, I'm takin care of your girls. The way I hope you'd want He thought.</p><p>Jack and Fabrizio slept on a bench only a few roads away, both of them wrapped up in their own grief. There was nothing either of them could say. When the sun light started to light the road up, it woke Jack up. Fabrizio was still asleep and so he went for a walk. He didn't know why. He just had to move, do something or he'd go completely mad. Not that insanity seemed like such a bad idea anymore. Maybe if he went insane, he'd see Rose.</p><p>His gaze absentmindedly turned to a nearby bench. Then he froze. There were three people on the bench, but Jack only saw one. Rose. It was her, he knew it, even though he couldn't see her face. He'd know that shade of red anywhere. "Rose?" He stepped towards the bench. She didn't wake up, but Tommy did. He twisted his head and saw Jack. He stared for a second, then carefully unwrapped his arms from Rose and Helga, so as not to wake them and stood up. "Jack?" He asked incredulously. "Tommy?"</p><p>Jack's gaze fell to Rose. "She's alive." He murmured, sitting down on the bench beside Rose, stoking her hair gently. Tommy sat down next to him. "Yeah, she is. She thought you were dead though." His face crinkled up in confusion. "I was unconscious. She musta thought I was dead. She wasn't on the survivors list. Neither was Helga." It was Jack's turn to be confused. Tommy shrugged. "I assumed they'd already put their names on the list."</p><p>"Jack?" He looked down to see Rose gazing up at him, her blue eyes a mix of shock and incredulity. She jumped to her feet. "Jack!" He stood up and wrapped his arms around her as he leaned down to kiss her. Their lips met in a passionate urgency. "I thought I'd lost you! I woke up under the water and when I found the door, you were gone. Then when the steward told me you weren't on the damn survivors list, I, I … I can't live without you. And I don't want to." He didn't know how to describe the agony that had destroyed him when he had discovered that she wasn't on the survivors list. All he could do was beg her not to leave him again. "Please, Rose, I can't lose you again. I love you." Rose smiled. "I love you too Jack. The reason you couldn't find me on the survivors list is because you asked the steward to look for a Rose Dewitt Bukater, not a Rose Dawson." Jack stared at her. She had taken his name. She loved him as much as he loved her. Well maybe not quite as much as he couldn't imagine anyone loving anyone as much as he loved her, but close. He buried his face in her hair. "Rose Dawson." He murmured, hugging her tightly. "You are amazing, you know that?"</p><p>Rose giggled "Well that's the second time you've told me, so I guess I must know."</p><p>"I only say the truth." Jack promised her, grinning.</p><p>Behind them, Fabrizio walked up, watching the happy scene take place in front of him. It was a bittersweet moment for him, he was happy for Jack, but he was sad because he would not be reunited with his beautiful Helga because she had died. Then he saw Tommy sitting on the bench and beside him was "Helga!" She looked away from Rose and Jack, startled. "Fabrizio!" She cried. They fell into each other's arms. "You are alive-a! You were-a not on the survivors list!"</p><p>"Neither were you!" Fabrizio hung his head. "I forgot." He said sheepishly. Helga laughed. She looked to Rose who pulled away from Jack a little to translate. She looked at Fabrizio. "I learnt Norwegian for a few years." Fabrizio's face lit up. "That is amazing!" Rose gave a little shrug and Helga spoke to her in Norwegian. Rose turned to Fabrizio. "You couldn't find me on the survivors list because I told them my name was Helga De Rossi." Fabrizio was gazing at Helga as if she had been the one speaking. "I love you, Helga De Rossi." They embraced and then Helga pulled Rose into the hug, who pulled Jack into the hug. They all stood there for a moment, happy tears streaming down their faces.</p><p>Tommy stood there watching the four of them. Rose looked up and saw him. "Oh, Tommy." She smiled and pulled him into the hug as well.</p><p>Author's Note: The last one had a sad ending, so here's a happy ending to cheer everyone up. Review?</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Cal finds Rose and Jack one last time</h2></a>
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    <p>At the top of the ship Cal saw Rose's red hair. He shoved forwards, not caring that he'd shoved a few people to their deaths. Jack was too focused on protecting Rose and Rose was too lost in her terror for either of them to notice him. He hauled himself over the rail next to them. That was when Rose turned her head to the side and saw him. "Cal!" She cried in horror. Jack tightened his grip around Rose protectively.</p><p>Cal smirked "Hello Rose, gutter rat." He greeted them pleasantly, nodding to each of them in turn, as if they had happened to run in to each other in the park. "I hope you enjoy your time as a whore, Rose." Satisfaction filled him as he saw Jack's face twist in fury. "Don't call her that." He growled. "I don't see why not. I only speak the truth." Cal taunted Jack. Jack clenched his fists. "No you don't. You're angry because Rose left you." Anger twisted through Cal. Well if Jack wanted to play that game, he'd soon find that he couldn't win.</p><p>"Partly." Cal admitted. "And I'm also angry that you've turned her into your little whore."</p><p>"You call her that one more time Cal."</p><p>"Call her what, Dawson?"</p><p>"I'm not gonna say it."</p><p>"Well if you won't, I will. She's a whore, a slut, a harlot." Cal smirked. Jack lunged forward and punched Cal, knocking him backwards. "Jack no!" Rose cried but Jack barely heard her because of the blood rushing in his ears. Cal recovered quickly and flung Jack backwards. They fought, their faces twisted in fury, one of them would gain the upper hand and then the other but neither could keep it for long.</p><p>Finally, Cal cornered Jack on the edge of the railing. Jack looked for a way out but found nothing. He was trapped. Rose saw this and flung herself on Cal, making him stumble. He shoved her away violently, but to his horror, her momentum carried her too far away from him and she fell towards the edge. Jack lunged forwards, desperately trying to grab her but his hands grasped empty air. Rose fell over the edge. "Rose!" Jack could only watch helplessly as Rose fell towards the merciless ocean. Seconds before she hit the water she screamed "Jack!" Then she hit the ocean and went still. "No! Rose! No! Please, no!" Jack doubled over, the pain and grief almost manifesting in physical pain. "Come back, Rose, please. No, please, Rose, no! I love you!"</p><p>Cal joined him on the edge of the sinking ship. "I didn't mean to kill her. I meant to kill you." He said, staring at Rose's motionless body in shock. "I wish you had." Jack said hopelessly. Cal's grief and guilt overwhelmed him. "Kill me. I don't deserve to live with what I've done."</p><p>"That's true. But I don't either." Cal looked at Jack in confusion. "What did you do?"</p><p>"I shouldn'ta fought you. If I hadn't, Rose would still be alive." His words caught in his throat and he let out a sob.</p><p>I don't have to live with this pain. He thought. I can't. I can't live without Rose. Jack stood up and stepped towards the edge. The irony of where he was, the railing where he had convinced Rose not to jump, was not lost on him. Cal's eyes widened as he realised what Jack was doing but he made no attempt to stop him.</p><p>Jack looked down to the ocean and his eyes locked on Rose. "You jump, I jump, remember?" He stepped over the edge towards Rose.</p><p>Author's Note: Another sad one, sorry. I don't know why I like writing these so much. Review please!</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Drinking rivals</h2></a>
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    <p>Cal walked into the bar and sat down heavily on the nearest bar stool. He needed a drink. He didn't want to get really drunk, just take the edge off things. It'd been a month since Titanic had sunk, a month since he had lost Rose. He ordered a drink and sipped it slowly.</p><p>"This is your sixth in twenty minutes mate, and these are pretty strong."</p><p>"I know they're strong, That's kinda the point." Cal turned his head towards the voice. He knew that voice, but he almost didn't recognise it in the desolate tone it had taken on. Jack Dawson.</p><p>The bartender poured Jack another drink. Jack lifted it to his lips, but over the glass he saw Cal and put the glass down on the counter. "Dawson?" Cal said in disbelief. "What d'ya want?" Jack snapped. Cal never thought he'd think this, but the sight of Dawson gave him hope. "Where's Rose?" His hopes were quickly dashed as he saw Jack's face twist in pain. "She didn't survive the sinking." Cal had thought this, but Jack actually saying it made his heart sink. No matter how he had treated her, he had loved Rose and he still did.</p><p>"But you did." Cal glared at Jack.</p><p>"I wish I hadn't."</p><p>Cal gave a harsh laugh. "I'm supposed to believe that a gutter rat like you would put her life above your own?" He half didn't believe his own words, but he wanted to make Jack hurt as much as he did, not caring that he clearly already was, because Jack was here, and Rose was not. "It makes no difference whether you believe me or not Hockley. Its true. I would do anything for her to be alive now and me be the one dead." He winced at the last word. "At least I tried to protect her, you almost got her killed, more than once!"</p><p>"But you're the one who got her killed in the end though Dawson." The pain in Jack's eyes startled Cal. "Don't you think I know that? Don't you think I don't know that if I had just walked away from her after the first-class dinner, she would still be alive? But I tried to save her and that's what got her killed." He downed the rest of his glass.</p><p>"What happened to her?"</p><p>"There was a door in the water, there was only room for one of us, so I stayed in the water. What, shocked that some people care about someone else more than themselves?"</p><p>"A little." Cal admitted. "Of course." Jack rolled his eyes.</p><p>"I musta fallen unconscious because when I woke up, she was gone. I hoped that she'd been saved from the water on the first lifeboat but when I checked the survivors list there was no Rose Dewitt Bukater." Jack choked on his words. "I asked the officer who was in the first lifeboat that came back, and he said he picked up three women but none of them had red hair."</p><p>"Well we both loved her and we both got her killed." Cal said bitterly.</p><p>"You don't shoot at someone if you love them."</p><p>"I was shooting at you!"</p><p>"I wish you were a better shot. And you coulda hit her even if you weren't aiming for her and you musta known that."</p><p>"I was angry. And if you really loved her, you wouldn't be trying to forget her." Cal nodded at the empty glass in Jack's hand. Jack's face contorted in anger. "I don't care what else you wanna say about me but don't ever say that I don't love her."</p><p>"Or what? You'll hit me?" Cal taunted him.</p><p>"I'll think about it. I'm not trying to forget her, I'm trying to forget what happened to her."</p><p>Cal finished his glass and stood up. "Well I'm going to go find a bar where I don't have to see the gutter rat who killed my fiancée." Jack only ordered another drink, uncaring of what Cal did, lost in his own grief.</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. French Girls and Rose</h2></a>
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    <p>20th February 1914</p><p>Annette sat outside the building on a bench for a moment to catch her breath when a woman's voice made her look up "May I sit here?" Annette nodded, studying the woman curiously. She looked third-class but her accent was most certainly not. "I'm Annette Aveline."</p><p>"Rose Dawson." Annette froze for a moment. She inwardly shook her head. Dawson was a common enough name. "Are you alright?" Rose looked at her in concern. Annette nodded.</p><p>"Sorry, I knew someone years ago with the surname Dawson." Rose's pink lips parted a little and recognition flashed in her eyes. A memory came back to her in an instant. "No, no, no, no ,no. She was a one-legged prostitute, you see. Ah, she had a good sense of humour though." In Rose's mind, she saw the woman in the drawing and the woman sitting in front of her. They were the same woman.</p><p>"Do I know you?" Annette asked.</p><p>"Who did you know years ago?"</p><p>"A man named Jack Dawson." She narrowed her eyes. She had never imagined Jack settling down, when she'd known him, he'd always been so eager to live and see the world. But could this woman be… "Are you his wife?" Rose nodded "I was." Another thought came to Annette. If Rose was Jack's wife, surely he was here. "Is he here?" She asked hopefully. Rose shook her head sorrowfully. Then Rose's answer registered to her. "Wait, you were his wife?" Rose nodded again. Dread started to creep through Annette. What had happened to the laughing artist she had met three years ago? "What…happened… to him?"</p><p>"You've heard of the Titanic, I'm sure." Annette gasped. Oh god no. "I boarded in first-class, he boarded in third. He won his ticket in a game of poker." She said, answering Annette's unanswered question. "I was… unhappy. My father died in 1910 and left us with huge gambling debts so my mother was desperate to marry me to a rich gentleman who could pay them. Later that year, I met my fiancé, Caledon Hockley. At the beginning, I loved him. Or I thought I did at least. But then we had an argument and he changed. He became possessive and controlling. We travelled through Europe and we were sailing back to America on the Titanic. It all got too much one evening, the 12th, and I climbed over the railing at the stern."</p><p>"You were going to jump?" Annette interrupted. Rose ducked her head. "Yes. That was how I met Jack, actually. He convinced me not to jump. When I turned to climb back over, I stepped on my dress and slipped. He managed to pull me back over, I was not much help, I'm afraid, and we both ended up on the floor. But I'd screamed, and some crew members found us in a…rather compromising position." Annette chuckled and Rose smiled. "I made up a story about looking at the propellors which they believed thankfully. Cal invited Jack to dinner as a "reward" for saving me. It was obvious he wanted Jack to show up looking poor and out of place so they could all laugh at him."</p><p>"That bastard!" Annette was furious at the thought of anyone doing that to her friend. Rose nodded grimly "I went down to third-class to thank him the next day and we walked round the deck. I thanked him for pulling me back and for his discretion. Jack asked me what happened to make me feel like I had no way out and I told him how trapped I had felt and he saw the real problem even though I hadn't told him. He asked me if I loved my fiancé, Cal, and I refused to answer him and I was rather rude and I snatched his portfolio from him as a way of changing the subject. He was such an exquisite artist." She smiled sadly and the dread in Annette increased. He was such an exquisite artist. She continued listening, hoping against hope that the story would end a different way from which it was heading. Then she remembered something else. Unless Jack had a different portfolio to the one he had in Paris, her drawings were in that book. She went bright red and Rose giggled, guessing what she was thinking. "I'm sorry, I did see…" She trailed off. Annette shrugged, waving her hand "It is alright, I let him keep it, I do not mind if you saw it."</p><p>"Why did he draw you?" Rose asked, not jealously.</p><p>"He drew one of my friends, her name is Rosine."</p><p>The two girls sat on a bench early in the morning, giggling. "I met this man last night." Rosine told Annette. "I think we all did." Annette answered drily. "No, no, no, not like that, not really. He is an artist." Rosaline said.</p><p>"Ooh, an artist." Annette teased her. Rosine shoved her playfully "I found him drawing on a park bench and I asked him if he'd ever drawn a woman and I asked him to draw me."</p><p>"With clothes or without?"</p><p>"Without. He agreed and he has such talent! And he is very handsome."</p><p>"Can he just use his hands for drawing?" Annette raised her eyebrows suggestively.</p><p>"I do not know." Rosine replied, pretending to be sad. "Oh, look! There he is, over there!" She pointed to a man sitting again on a park bench drawing a group of children playing in the grass. "Jack!" She called, waving. He looked up and saw them and Annette for the first time saw just how handsome he was.</p><p>"Rosine, and…"</p><p>"Annette."</p><p>"Nice to meet you, Annette." Jack grinned.</p><p>"Then what happened?" Annette prompted.</p><p>"We ended up talking about art and his travels. We talked about going to the pier in Santa Monica and drinking cheap beer, riding the rollercoaster til we threw up, and riding horses in the surf. He taught me how to spit over the side of Titanic-"</p><p>"Always the charmer."</p><p>"Oh it gets better. My mother found us spitting and she was not impressed, to say the least." They both burst out laughing.</p><p>"Oh god."</p><p>"I explained how we met, the story I'd told Cal, not how we really met, and then they blew the horn for dinner. Mother and I left to get dressed for dinner." She continued to tell the story, waving her hands while she spoke occasionally.</p><p>When she got to the part where Jack had drawn her, Annette laughed "Like one of his French girls, huh?" Rose just shrugged her shoulders and crinkled her nose. "Wait did you and him…"</p><p>"No, Jack was very… professional."</p><p>"Yes, drawing girls without their clothes is the height of professionalism." Annette quirked.</p><p>"Well of course." Rose said in mock-surprise. "Unfortunately, Lovejoy, Cal's valet came down to the suite and we had to run. He chased us down into the boiler rooms and Jack, he pulled me back and kissed me." She sighed dreamily and they both giggled.</p><p>"He never kissed me." Annette pouted. "I never saw him have any love affairs in the whole time I knew him, even though he had plenty of offers, as you can probably imagine."</p><p>"Mmmm. We went into the storage compartment and we found a car, a Renault." Rose went red as the flower she was named after and Annette guessed what happened next.</p><p>"Damn, you lucky girl."</p><p>When she got to the part where it all went wrong, Annette sucked in her breath. She was pretty sure she knew what Rose was going to say and she didn't want to hear but she knew she had to. She had to know what had happened to her friend.</p><p>"You went back to your mother and Cal?" Annette asked incredulous. Rose looked away ashamed.</p><p>"It was stupid, I know that now, but I wanted to warn them. She is my mother and I didn't want Cal to die. Yet." She shook her head and continued "We went back to the cabin and Lovejoy was waiting for us. He was on Jack's side and that was when he must've…"</p><p>"He must've what?"</p><p>"We walked into the cabin and the Master of Arms and some stewards were there. Cal ordered them to search Jack and they found the Heart of the Ocean in his pocket."</p><p>"What? But Jack wouldn't steal from anyone unless he absolutely had to!" Annette protested.</p><p>"I know that now but… Cal said that he must have taken it while I was putting my clothes back on and then it turned out that he had taken the coat and I, I let him get dragged out. He begged me to believe him but I couldn't." Rose was almost sobbing. Annette was silent in her horror. All she could see was Jack drowning, handcuffed and trapped, unable to escape. It overwhelmed to think of her friend dying like that. But she couldn't bring herself to be angry with Rose either. It wasn't her fault and she knew Jack wouldn't've blamed Rose and he wouldn't've wanted her to blame Rose either.</p><p>"What happened?" She said gently. Rose gathered herself.</p><p>"I almost got on the lifeboat. I almost left him to drown! But then, then I realised that he hadn't done it. I can almost thank Cal for that. He said something and I realised what Cal had done. I ran away from the lifeboats and Cal tried to stop me. He caught me and I told him that I'd rather be Jack's whore than his wife." Her lips curled in a hint of a smile. Annette breathed a short sigh of relief before realising that Jack still wasn't there with them.</p><p>As Rose continued to speak, apprehension and dread rose in Annette. Rose told her of how she had rescued Jack from the handcuffs and anger boiled up in Annette when she heard of how the third-class people had been trapped behind gates. As the story carried on, Rose had to force her words out. Telling someone out loud about Jack was so, so hard.</p><p>"When I look back, I don't know how I fell for Cal's lies again."</p><p>"You were scared." Annette said comfortingly. A few moments later, she gasped.</p><p>"You jumped off the lifeboat?"</p><p>"I couldn't leave him." Rose said simply.</p><p>"I saw Helga, Fabrizio's love, when she was hanging from the rail, her parents had fallen, and we only looked at each other for a few moments before she fell to her death." Tears started to drip down Rose's face. "I held onto Jack's hand, but when the ship went under we were dragged apart."</p><p>Every time Rose spoke of being separated from Jack, Annette held her breath, bracing herself for the pain. And each time, she breathed a sharp sigh of relief. But this was to be the last.</p><p>"He stayed in the water." Tears were pouring down her face by now. "He made me promise to live and I should have realised, I should have realised what he was doing! But I thought we were both going to die, and I didn't register that he was telling me that I was going live, not we were going to live. When he was telling me that, I thought maybe he was trying to be hopeful for a future for both of us. I didn't realise, I didn't realise… He told me I was the best thing that ever happened to him, but if it weren't for me, he'd still be alive." She broke down in sobs.</p><p>Annette wiped away her own tears. " His death wasn't your fault. Jack wouldn't have wanted you to realise Rose. Because what would you have done if you realised he was dying? Would you have promised to live on without him? Or would you have refused to leave him?"</p><p>"I would never have left him to die alone if I'd known. Never." Rose answered.</p><p>"Exactly. Jack wouldn't have wanted you to know, Rose. I know-knew him well enough to know that." Annette stumbled over her words. Knew. In the past. Jack was in the past.</p><p>"When the lifeboat came back, I turned and I- I tried to wake him up, but he wouldn't wake up. He wouldn't wake up! I wanted to stay with him, but I remembered the promise I made to him but our hands were frozen together and I had to watch him sink to the ocean floor." Rose sobbed.</p><p>They sat in silence for a few minutes, lost in their grief. They got a few odd looks, two women sitting crying on a bench, but neither of them noticed or cared. Annette broke the silence "What happened afterwards?"</p><p>"I never went back to first-class. Cal came down to third-class, looking for me-"</p><p>"He survived?" Annette interrupted. Fury rose up in her like a river. Rose's evil fiancé had survived but not Jack, the kindest man Annette had ever met.</p><p>Rose nodded "He did. When the steward asked my name" She continued to tell the story, "I told him my name was Rose Dawson. I travelled through America and then came back to Europe." Annette gave a little smile at the romance of the story. Jack deserved to have a great love story like she knew he had had with Rose.</p><p>"On a ship?"</p><p>"I wouldn't've if I'd had another choice, trust me."</p><p>"Annette! There are men waiting!" A harsh voice shouted.</p><p>Annette heaved a sigh "I have to go. I'll see you again?"</p><p>"I'd like that." Annette smiled and, on an impulse, leaned forward and hugged Rose. "Annette!" She rolled her eyes. "I'm coming, I'm coming!" She turned and strode back inside.</p><p>The next day, Annette sat in a park with Rosine. "I met someone yesterday."</p><p>Rosine looked at her curiously "Who?"</p><p>"Rose Dawson. Jack Dawson's wife."</p><p>"Jack? Jack married? Is he here?" Rosine asked excitedly.</p><p>Annette winced "No." Rosine noticed the miserable look on her face. "Annette?"</p><p>"He's dead, Rosine."</p><p>Rosine stared at Annette in shock. "What?" She said finally.</p><p>"He was on the Titanic." Tears ran down both of their faces. A flash of red caught Annette's eyes. Rose was walking through the trees at the other side of the park. "That's Rose." She pointed. "Rose!" She called. Rose turned in the direction of her voice. She broke into a smile "Annette!" She walked towards them.</p><p>"This is Rosine." Annette introduced them.</p><p>"Nice to meet you." Rose smiled "Can I sit here?" Rosine nodded.</p><p>"Sure."</p><p>"So you're Jack's wife."</p><p>"In every way except the legal sense, yes."</p><p>Rosine furrowed her brows "You have a lot to tell me, it seems."</p><p>Over the next few months, Rose, Annette and Rosine became very close friends. But when war was declared, Annette and Rosine convinced Rose to leave. She protested, but eventually they convinced her. They came to say goodbye when Rose boarded the ship taking her home. "I'm going to miss you both." Rose smiled sadly.</p><p>"We'll miss you too!" Annette wrapped her in a hug and pulled Rosine in as well.</p><p>"Final call to board!"</p><p>The three women parted reluctantly. "I hope I'll see you again." Rose said before walking away towards the ship. Annette and Rosine didn't move from their spot and a few moments later, Rose appeared on deck. She ran to the rail and waved wildly.</p><p>"Goodbye!"</p><p>Author's Note: I'm sorry! I know its been ages but please don't give up on me, I have more oneshots that are in progress. What did you think of this one?</p>
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<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Meeting throughout the years</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>1897</p><p>Fifteen-year-old Caledon Hockley sighed with boredom. His father had dragged him to this stupid little town in order to show him how to make business deals. He excused himself to go to the bathroom.</p><p>When he stepped back into the sunlight outside the building after leaving the toilet, which was absolutely disgusting, he heard a child's wail. He turned to see a little boy of about five tumble over his own feet and fall on the floor. Cal sneered in disgust as the boy promptly burst into tears. Cal's own father would never have allowed such weakness. He would have dragged Cal off the floor and told him to shut up. That was the only way to teach boys how to be men.</p><p>However, the child's sobs were irritating him and so he walked over and pulled the boy roughly to his feet. "Shut up, will you?" He demanded harshly.</p><p>"You're very mean!" The child pouted. Cal rolled his eyes.</p><p>"What's your name?"</p><p>"Jack Dawson." The little boy said proudly.</p><p>"Jack!" A woman's voice called. Cal looked up to see a woman rush towards them and scoop Jack into her arms, wiping his tears. "Thank you so much for looking after him, sir." She said, looking up at Cal, who even at the age of fifteen, was an impressive six feet. She hurried away.</p><p>12th April 1912</p><p>When Cal rushed out to the deck, he first saw Rose being comforted by a crew member and then turned his attention to the man being handcuffed. He hid his surprise as a memory flashed back to him. Cal scrutinised the young man carefully. Yes, it was definitely him, the little boy from Wisconsin. Jack Dawson. Now he'd be about twenty, Cal supposed. And he had had the audacity to attack Cal's fiancée, Cal thought furiously.</p><p>15th April 1912</p><p>Cal walked around the deck of the Carpathia, desperately searching for Rose. There had been a moment when he thought he'd found her but it was just another woman with red hair.</p><p>A steward with a list of names walked past him. "Sir! Is that a survivors list?" The man nodded.</p><p>"You looking for someone, sir?"</p><p>Cal nodded "Rose Dewitt Bukater."</p><p>The man looked through his list then shook his head sorrowfully "I'm sorry, sir. She's not here."</p><p>Waves of grief crashed over Cal, overwhelming him. Rose… His knees buckled and he grabbed the side of the ship to steady himself. "What about Spicer Lovejoy?" The man checked and then again shook his head. Cal felt a tinge of guilt. He had sent Lovejoy to his death. He regretted it but the grief did not swamp him, like the news of Rose's death had.</p><p>There was one last name he had to try. Not because he wanted him to be alive, quite the opposite actually, but he had to know if that gutter rat who'd killed his fiancée, his darling Rose, had survived. "Jack Dawson?" The steward checked his list and then looked up, relieved to be able to deliver some good news at least. Or what he thought was good news.</p><p>"Yes, sir, he's on the list." Cal's blood boiled but he forced himself to fake a relieved smile.</p><p>"Thank you, sir." He walked away, not entirely sure where he was going. He wandered aimlessly, his thoughts focused on Rose.</p><p>A little while later, he saw a familiar man standing with his back to him at the rail. Jack Dawson. He strode towards him and grabbed him by the shoulder. Cal was shocked when he saw Jack's face. the laughing optimistic young man of only yesterday was gone. The pain on Jack's face almost made Cal turn away. The only thing that made him able to face Jack was his own pain and grief.</p><p>"What happened to Rose?" They both flinched at her name.</p><p>"Why do you care? You woulda rather seen her dead than with me." Jack snarled bitterly. At his words, something in Cal snapped and he grabbed Jack's collar "Don't you ever say that, Dawson. I was angry and it was you I wanted dead."</p><p>"I wish you'd got your wish." Jack snapped.</p><p>"You didn't answer my question. What happened to her?" Cal demanded. Jack stayed silent. Why should he tell Cal what had happened to her? He didn't even deserve that.</p><p>"If you don't tell me, I'm going to assume that you killed her." Cal threatened. Jack's face twisted in fury "I would never hurt her! Unlike you."</p><p>Cal ignored the last part "Well if you won't tell me, what else am I supposed to think?" Jack knew he was falling into a trap and he didn't care.</p><p>"There was a door, in the water, there was only room for one of us, so I stayed in the water."</p><p>"Jack, you have to try again! Please!" Rose begged. Jack shook his head.</p><p>"I won't risk your life Rose."</p><p>"But you'll risk your own?" Rose countered.</p><p>"Your life is far more important to me than my own, Rose."</p><p>But Rose wouldn't give in. In one quick motion, she slid off the door back into the frozen water. "Rose! Get back on the door, please." He pleaded with her.</p><p>"I'll get back on when you do. You jump, I jump, remember?"</p><p>"You get back up first, and then I will." Jack promised, knowing there was no other way to get her back on the door, out of the water. Satisfied, Rose dragged herself back onto the door and gingerly Jack followed, hanging onto the very edge of the door until he was sure it was stable. Then he wrapped his arms around Rose, pulling her close to him, to protect her as best he could. But he couldn't protect her from the cold. She shivered despite his desperate attempts to keep her warm. It killed him that she was in this pain to be with him and that there was nothing he could do.</p><p>"It'll be alright, Rose, it'll be alright." He murmured comfortingly.</p><p>What seemed like years later, Jack felt the light of a torch on his face. A lifeboat had come back, Rose was gonna be alright. He didn't give a thought to his own survival. Jack moved his face from where it was buried in her hair and turned her face towards him. Fear sliced through his heart when he saw how still and pale she was, her eyelashes covered with ice. But she wasn't dead, she couldn't be dead. "Rose, there's a boat!" He whispered. No answer. "Rose!" He shook her gently. Still nothing. "Rose, please, wake up, please!" Jack begged her but her eyes didn't open and he couldn't see the frosty cloud of her breath. She was gone. The truth hit him all at once, like a knife ripping into his heart and he howled in agony. "No!" Rose was gone, her fire quenched by the icy waters.</p><p>Jack buried his face back in her scarlet curls sobbing with no intention of attracting the attention of the lifeboat. There was no point to life without Rose. He couldn't live in a world that she was not in.</p><p>But his howl had been heard by the men in the lifeboat and they rowed towards him. Jack took no notice of them, too destroyed by his grief. One man saw him move though and they grabbed his shoulders. He tried to fight them, but the cold had stolen all strength from him. "No! Please, I can't abandon her, I promised her she'd be alright! I love her! No!" Jack cried, but all that came from his throat was a strangled whimper. He clung to Rose but despite his struggles, they pulled him into the lifeboat away from Rose.</p><p>Tears dripped down both of their faces, the pain of losing Rose destroying them both. Jack turned and walked away. They had nothing more to say to each other.</p><p>15th April 1916</p><p>Cal staggered into a bar, desperate to forget. Memories of Rose, Rose laughing, smiling, dancing shouting, crying whirled through his head. And worse still were the imaginings he could see of her frozen, cold, dead. "Forgive me, Rose." He muttered, sitting down on a bar stool, and slamming down money on the table for a drink.</p><p>"I think it's a bit late for that." His head snapped up and there was Jack, watching him through drunken eyes.</p><p>"You." Cal narrowed his eyes.</p><p>"Me." Jack looked almost the same physically as he had four years ago but everything else about him had changed. He was no longer the cheerful young man on Titanic, but he wasn't quite the same man he had had been on Carpathia either. He didn't sit up straight anymore, instead he sat hunched over his drink, which clearly wasn't his first. He had never recovered from Rose's death four years ago. Neither had Cal, but he had never known Rose as well as Jack had. Cal wasn't sure whether or not he was jealous of this, seeing the state Jack was in.</p><p>Cal had thrown himself into his work after a month, but Jack hadn't had any work to distract him from his grief. He had clearly spent the last four years in bars just like this one. Thinking that though, Cal couldn't see Jack trying to forget his grief, he could only see Jack drowning in his grief.</p><p>"What are you doing here?"</p><p>"I wasn't aware this was your bar, Hockley." His voice startled Cal a bit, in its slightly slurred, hopeless tone.</p><p>"This may come as a surprise to you Dawson, but I don't own the world."</p><p>"Really? I was under the impression you did."</p><p>"What happened to 'make each day count'?" Cal gestured to the half empty – Cal had never been an optimistic person, well maybe he had been with Rose, but those times were long gone- glass in front of Jack.</p><p>"Rose died." They both flinched. "I have nothing to make it count for anymore." Jack saw the ring on Cal's ring finger. "I see you got married. Rose was so easy to replace for you, wasn't she?" He hadn't lost his ability to see people, he knew that wasn't true, but he was angry, and he didn't care.</p><p>Cal glared at him "I don't expect you to understand. I had to marry, to carry on the Hockley line. You've never had those kinds of expectations on you."</p><p>"No, I haven't." Jack shook his head. "But I still know I could never marry again." He said contemptuously.</p><p>"You were never married to Rose. I came closer to marrying her than you ever did." Cal lashed out. Jack narrowed his eyes at him "I didn't marry her legally, but I did."</p><p>Something inside Cal twisted at the reminder that Rose had loved Jack far more than she had ever loved him. This time, he was the one to turn and walk away. As he did so, a photo of Rose fell out of his pocket. Jack snatched it up from the ground.</p><p>15th April 1922</p><p>Cal stepped out of the building during the break in his business meeting. He sat smoking for several minutes gazing at nothing in particular, just gazing out on the park. Without realising he watched a blond man lying, unconscious Cal assumed, face down on a bench.</p><p>The man had caught someone else's attention, an old man who hurried over to him. The old man shook his shoulders, gently at first, then with more urgency. When he got no response, he turned the man over. When Cal saw the man's face, he got a shock as he recognised him. Dawson.</p><p>His lips were blue and his eyes were closed. As Cal watched, the old man held in front of Jack's mouth to see if he was breathing. But Cal could see the truth from where he was. Jack was dead. Dead from hypothermia, exactly ten years after Titanic. The irony was not lost on Cal. The old man shook Jack's shoulders one last time in one last attempt to wake him up. It was futile.</p><p>I always win, Jack, Cal thought but then shook his head. Wherever Jack was now, he was with Rose. Jack had won.</p><p>The old man had gathered a few other men to carry Jack's body away. As they did, a piece of paper fell out of Jack's jacket pocket and fluttered to the ground. During its fall to the ground, it turned so for a second Cal saw that it was a photo of Rose. It was the photo that he had lost six years ago when it had fallen out of his pocket. Cal lunged forward and picked up the photo. He hesitated for a moment and then ran after the men carrying Jack's body away. "Wait!"</p><p>They turned to look at him in confusion. "This fell out of his pocket." He said as explanation, holding out the photo. One of the men took the photo from him and placed it back in Jack's pocket and then closed the pocket to prevent it from falling out again. He nodded his thanks to Cal and then they walked away.</p>
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